BOUNCING BACK:There was also an emotional win for Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova, who beat Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig in her first match at a major since defeating cancer

Serena Williams of the US returns to Francesca Schiavone of Italy in their US Open women’s singles first-round match in New York on Monday.

Photo: AFP

Favorites Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, with 28 Grand Slam titles between them, cruised into the US Open on Monday, but 17-time major winner Roger Federer was thwarted by rain.

Nadal, the second-seeded 2010 champion who watched last year’s US Open from his home in Spain as he endured a seven-month injury layoff, cruised to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over Ryan Harrison of the US to record a 16th win on hard courts this year.

The 27-year-old Spaniard has captured nine trophies since his return from injury in February, building up a 54-3 record in the process, and he went into New York having won back-to-back Masters titles in Montreal and Cincinnati, comfortably erasing his shock first-round exit at Wimbledon.

“It’s a special emotion to be back in New York. It’s a special atmosphere,” said Nadal, who next tackles either Canada’s Vasek Pospisil or Brazilian qualifier Rogerio Dutra Silva.

The top seed fired 13 winners and broke the former French Open champion six times on her way to a second-round match against Kazakhstan’s Galina Voskoboeva.

“I’m really excited,” Williams said. “I knew playing a former Grand Slam champion the first round was a tough draw, so I just tried to be super serious.”

Venus Williams, the back-to-back champion in 2000 and 2001, and the oldest woman left in the draw at 33, started her 15th US Open with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Belgian 12th seed Kirsten Flipkens, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon.

Venus Williams, ranked 60th in the world, next faces China’s Zheng Jie after avenging a loss to Flipkens in Toronto earlier this month.

“It’s just good to be here, see familiar faces since my first time in 1997 with the beads and the braces,” Venus Williams said.

Federer, the former five-time champion seeded a lowly seventh, was due to take on Slovenia’s Grega Zemjla in the late match, but heavy late evening rain meant the Swiss star, still bruised by his second-round loss at Wimbledon — his worst All England Lawn Tennis Club defeat in a decade — would have to try again yesterday.

However, there were no such problems for Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer, a semi-finalist in 2007 and last year, who defeated teenage Australian qualifier Nick Kyrgios 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 and next faces compatriot Roberto Bautista.

The 23-year-old Evans had never won a main draw match at a Grand Slam until Monday and his reward is a second-round clash against Australia’s Bernard Tomic, who needed five sets to see off Albert Ramos of Spain.

Monday’s win guaranteed Evans at least US$53,000 — US$10,000 more than he has made in all of this year so far.

“I really want to be top 100, so that’s when the money will start to come in, is when I’m top 100 consistently,” Evans said. “It is an added bonus, but it would be a bit strange if I was just thinking about the money after I’ve just beat the 11th seed.”